Mimics assists in separating conjoined twins

After Ganges and Jamuna from India, Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa from Guatemala, doctors hope to successfully separate the conjoined Egyptian twins, Ahmed and Mohamed. All 3 very delicate operations have been prepared using Materialise Mimics software.

Mimics software is used for medical image processing and editing based on CT-data. In the cases of the conjoined twins, the digital CT information was translated and prepared in Mimics for the production of medical models on rapid prototyping machines.

All 3 cases involve twins that were joined at the head from birth. This very rare condition happens once in 2.5 million births. Historically, the efforts to separate twins joined at the head have been bleak. Only 7 of 60 children came through the surgery without brain damage and a total of 30 children died. However, as a result of advances in imaging and computing, the expected outcome is now improved as compared to when surgeons had only two-dimensional x-rays to work from.

Mimics displays the CT-data in a variety of ways, which provides both unique and detailed information. 3D visualisation, measuring, editing, morphology, and Boolean operations…give surgeons a complete and accurate view of the specific part of the human anatomy. All over the world, Mimics software is used to prepare computerised data in such a way that prototyping machines can built exact models. Surgeons using medical models are convinced that these models enable them to make important discoveries about the anatomy, which are not apparent from x-rays or CT and MRI scans.

These Life-size-three-dimensional models of the twins' skulls have proven to be essential in the pre-surgical planning. It gives the plastic surgeons a clear view of the anatomical structures of the skulls, while providing the neurosurgeons with all of the necessary information regarding the arrangement of blood vessels.